capheind wrote:Is there any chance of Adagio ever offering a loose leaf Ethiopian coffee leaf tea? I've only found it in bags so far, and only from astral-natural.com.

Well I had a chat with one of the folks over at Astral-Natural.com and they've got Loose coffee leaf in the works. It'd be nice to be able to just order it from Adagio with my other Tea's and Tisanes, but I'm betting its far too much of a niche product for you guys to carry it.

Well, the easiest way to find out how coffee-flavored tea tastes would be to brew your tea in water that was heated in a drip automatic coffee maker. That'll give you a fairly accurate idea.

Most find it dissatisfying. Coffee aficionados find it thoroughly insipid, tea nerds bemoan the loss of delicate flavors, and others find the mere idea to be an excellent exercise for their gag reflex. There will be the odd bird that finds it a grand thing, though. There's no accounting for taste.

Coffee leaf tea, however, tastes nothing like coffee...and not too much like tea either. It's just kinda...weird. You know...that ambiguous herbal/stewed leaf thing that's not unpleasant, but not jaw-droppingly awesome either. You can find some here if you're really interested.

Mary R wrote:Well, the easiest way to find out how coffee-flavored tea tastes would be to brew your tea in water that was heated in a drip automatic coffee maker. That'll give you a fairly accurate idea.

Most find it dissatisfying. Coffee aficionados find it thoroughly insipid, tea nerds bemoan the loss of delicate flavors, and others find the mere idea to be an excellent exercise for their gag reflex. There will be the odd bird that finds it a grand thing, though. There's no accounting for taste.

Coffee leaf tea, however, tastes nothing like coffee...and not too much like tea either. It's just kinda...weird. You know...that ambiguous herbal/stewed leaf thing that's not unpleasant, but not jaw-droppingly awesome either. You can find some here if you're really interested.

I heard of this. The closest thing to this I've found was when I went to Hong Kong last Spring. I found a heavenly drink called a "Yin-Yang". It was served in a large stainless steel cup and it was a mix of half coffee (nice and strong) and half tea and was slightly sweet. Was it good? God, YES! It was colder than cold - it reminded me of drinking from a martini shaker because of the degree of cold. It was horribly humid while we were there, so this brew was our staple. Not so smart on our part because it dehydrated us more! I make it for my guests regularly now when I hold my dumpling fests.

silverneedles wrote:half coffee and half tea... something to try tomorrow morning oh you said it was cold... eh, guess the coffee will be less dominant like that?

Hi! It was really odd...it was so balanced that I could not tell which was dominant. Could have sworn I was back in Japan (well...the name is Yin-Yang, so...). It was just perfect. When I make it, I use espresso ground coffee in my cold drip. I have used a variety of teas and my fave is the lychee tea I got from Beijing's Dr. Tea House. I normally make it with 1/2 coffee and 1/2 tea and this seems to be pretty close to my Hong Kong favorite. I add cream and raw sugar, ice and shake the heck out of it! Sometimes I have taken a Vietnamese slant and added some sweetened condensed milk (like Vietnamese coffee) and it is utterly sinful. I remember one of the eateries I went to in Hong Kong was a communal type seating, where there was just a large row of people sitting across from each other. We were the only Americans there and we noticed that EVERYONE was drinking this drink; a long row of silver cups on each side! It was pretty impressive. Of course we tried it and it was addiction since. I normally serve this to my guests. Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy it!

tea (used yunnan gold) really cut the coffee flavor, still feel some coffee "bitter" on sides of tongue,
milk cut all tannins, bitterness
sugar brought in sugar and "dirty" aftertaste(as i call it)
tea flavor is diminished but can still feel some on palate(mixed with some coffeeness) and in aroma
not clashing ! (imho)
no ice yet

silverneedles wrote:hey that was not bad!tried the flavor step by step

tea (used yunnan gold) really cut the coffee flavor, still feel some coffee "bitter" on sides of tongue,milk cut all tannins, bitternesssugar brought in sugar and "dirty" aftertaste(as i call it)tea flavor is diminished but can still feel some on palate(mixed with some coffeeness) and in aromanot clashing ! (imho)no ice yet

Nice review of your brew. I can't believe I have never tried it room temp or hot. I have only tried it colder than cold. Did you use milk or cream? I should try milk for something different. The cream just makes it so...you know...evil?! Thanks for opening my eyes to a new way to experiment with one of my favorite beverages..I'm so curious that I'm off to do some experimenting now!